The Luddite Rapper

So, on Hollywood Boulevard there are all kinds of people out there getting their hustle on. Well, we ran into this guy who professed to be the next Jay Z. This balding guy, in his mid 30s, was allowing people to hear his demo on a CD walkman. Ok, aside from the fact that this guy was a little long in the tooth to be looking for his first record deal. He was also behind the times technology wise which is unacceptable in an industry that prides itself on being on the bleeding edge of technology.

So, our interaction went something like this...

'You gonna support a brother? Buy my CD.'
He blurted out with CD player and headphones in hand as my mom and I passed him on the sidewalk.
'Well, I download my music, I don't buy CDs, do you have a website? What's your name?'
For the sake of this story we'll call him O.A.R. O stands for Old, R stands for Rapper. You get the picture?
'I go by O.A.R! Nah, I don't have no website set up yet. But, you need to get this CD. I have over 40 songs on here.'
So, I take a listen. I'm feeling generous. As my friends call it, I'm wearing my vacation personality.
'That sounds like Biggie to me.'
'Oh yeah, that is Biggie, I'm on the next track. '
He takes the CD player and skips to the next song.
'Well, what about myspace. Most artists have a myspace page. Do you have one?'
So, he looks up at me. Even in my Uggs, I'm taller than him.
'Nah, I ain't on myspace. Just listen to this song real quick. This is some hard isht. I'm the next Jay Z. '
I listen for a second then I say,
'Well, if you had them online, I could maybe download the ones I like.'
'Download? I don't want nobody gettin my music for free.'
'No. By download, I mean purchase the songs online.'
Irritated, he takes the unmarked CD away from me and says,
'You gonna buy it or not?'
'I'm sorry, I don't have a CD player anymore. '
I am dismissed. He walks on to the next potential customer.
'Good luck!' I yell after him.

In an age where Soulja Boy gets a record deal based off of his youtube video and Tila Tequila gets her own show based on her myspace traffic, there's just no denying the importance of having an internet presence to get you 'put on'. I don't like to think its an age thing. Although the stats prove that younger people have more easily adapted to this new culture. Then, what about the fact that becoming the next Jay Z is like a 1 in a million lottery ticket. For most people it's just not going to happen. Should someone in their mid 30s know that already?

I don't know, I'm just sayin...

Holla